HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston State Bearkats hold their seeding destiny for the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament in their own hands going into Saturday when they host rival Stephen F. Austin in the regular-season finale at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.

The Bearkats can still secure as high as the No. 3 seed with a win over the Lumberjacks; however, a loss would mean the Kats would go into Katy as either the No. 4 or 5 seed. A Bearkat loss, coupled with a loss earlier in the day by Lamar to McNeese would give the Kats the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye. But a loss along with a Cardinal win over the Cowboys would give Lamar the No. 4 seed and drop the Kats into the No. 5 spot and a first-round game by virtue of a tiebreak scenario.

To get past the ‘Jacks, the Kats will have to rebound from an 88-70 loss at Central Arkansas on Wednesday in which Sam Houston had its first chance to clinch a bye. They had won five of their previous six games overall prior to the loss to the Bears.

A win would also split the season series between SFA and Sam Houston for the second straight year after the Lumberjacks took an 82-66 win over the Kats on Jan. 27 in a game that saw SFA shoot a scoring 66 percent from the floor behind 29 points from Shannon Bogues and another 20 from Ty Charles.

Sam Houston will come in led by Christopher Galbreath Jr. and Marcus Harris, each of whom are averaging double figures in conference play. The Kats still sport the best scoring defense in the league, while the ‘Jacks come in forcing nearly 21 turnovers per game, a mark that leads all teams in the NCAA.